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(No Model.) I 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

V V T. A. B. PUTNAM. I

AUTOMATIG SHUNT'RELAY 0R. CIRCUIT GLOSER.

Patented Nov. 27, 1883.

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T. A. B. PUTNAM.

AUTOMATIC SHUNT RELAY OR CIRCUIT CLOSER. No. 289,137. I Patented Nov. 27, 1883.

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Unrrs STATES THEODORE A. B. PUTNAM, OF NEXV YORK, N. Y.

-AUFOMAT1C SHUNT-RELAY OR ClRCUlT-CLOSER.

SPEGIFEGATEOH forming part of Letters Patent No. 289,137, dated November 27, 1883.

Application filed July 19,1883. (Nomodeh) bridges, crossing-gates,

One part of my invention relates to the au tomatically operating shunt relay, whereby two electro-magnets acting upon one armaturelever in common and in connection with a commutator act to shunt one magnet out of circuit and the other into circuit at each electrical impulse, at the same time breaking orclosing another. circuit through the movement of the armaturedever.

Another feature of my invention is the placing of the moving attracted part of the magnetthat is to say, the armature or its lever,

or both-in the same circuit with the coil,

whereby when the circuit is broken at any point the retraction of the armature will make another break at the magnet as well, for reasons that will be more fully set forth hereinafter.

"Where the armature is in circuit, the core or cores may also be in the circuit.

In order to make the operation of my invention clear and enable it to be the more readily understood, I will describe it as applied to a block-signal system for a singletrack railway, for which service it is well adapted.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is adiagram illustrating the circuitconuections for a singletrack railway, the track being shown in plan, and the dotted lines denoting generally the electrical connections between the signalingpoints. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing two signaling-points and their connections complete, the said points being provided with my improved shunt-relays. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the relay, enlarged. Fig. 4 is a section of same on line 4 i in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is asection on line 5 5 in Fig. 3, looking upward.

This view is designed to illustrate the construction of the commutator. Fig; 6 is aside elevation of a locomotive, showing the alarm apparatus in the cab, and designed to illustrate the application of my invention. Fig. 7 illustrates an electro-magnet wherein the armatureand core are in the same circuit with the coil,

and Fig. '8 illustrates a similar construction wherein the armature-lever only is in circuit with the coil. Fig. 9 is a detached view of the extremity of the armature-lever, enlarged.

Referring first to Fig. 1, I will briefly describe the system of electrical connection between signaling-points for a single-track railway. These points are lettered A, B, O, and D in this view, only four being shown. The points are connected together in pairs, and there are two points intervening between the points of each pair thus connected. Thus points A and D are electrically connected together, and the two points 13 and G intervene. The electrical connection is denoted by the dotted line a a. At each point is a signaling device for automatically imparting a signal or alarm to a passing engineer, if it be set at danger, but if it be set at safety, it imparts no alarm. As each locomotive passes each signaling-point,it sends an electric cur rent through the signaling device at this point and the one with which it is electrically con;

nected.

The operation is as follows: A locomotive passing in the direction of the arrow first reaches point A. If the signaling device here be set at danger, some suitable alarm will be sounded on the locomotive. I will assume that no such signal is received, the devicehere being set at safety, and that at D being also at safety. Inpassing A the locomotive sends a current,which sets the devices atboth A and D to danger, and if afterward another locomotive coming in the other direction passes D, it will receive the danger-signal and must stop. Thissecond locomotive has previously set the device at O to danger, and when the first locomotive reaches 0 it will receive the danger-signal. and it must also stop. Asslinr ing that the distance between signaling-points is one mile, the approach of each locomotive is heralded always from one to three miles in advance, and each locomotive has atleast half a mile to stop in. In this way the probability 4 be brought closer to each other than indicated uninterrupted track, this incomplete circuit is .completed through the rails, the current from:

.ing to its poles.

of a collision is greatlylessened. B and'O, D, and 13,850., may advantageously in the diagram, or even arranged in immediate juxtaposition.

. The manner in which the electric current is transmitted'and the'signal is received will be best understood by reference to Fig. 6, where L is a locomotive, G is an electric-current generator thereon, M is an alarm electro-magnet, and b b is an incomplete electric circuit, commencing at the wheels of the locomotive, traversing the generator G, the coils of the magnet M extending thence to the tender and terminating at the wheels of the latter. The tender-wheels are insulated from the locomotivewheels, as described in my Patent No. 258,600, dated May 30, 1882. IVhen running over an the generator traverses it, and the magnet M is excited and retains its armature m adher- Thus we have a normallyclosed circuit; but when a break in the rails is crossed, as denoted at c in Figs. 1 and 6, if-

the rails on opposite sides thereof are not bridged by an electric conductor, the circuit b b is broken, and the armature 112, being no longer held by the magnet, is drawn down by the retracting-spring a. In descending it pulls on a rod, 0, and so tilts the whistle-lever p,

' which sounds the whistle IV. This constitutes the danger-alarm. The whistle will continue to sound until the engineer pushes up the ark mature against the poles of the magnet, to

which it will be again attracted if the circuit has meanwhile been closed. As the duration of the interruption in the circuit in passing over an insulation on the track is extremely brief, and as in many cases the armature of magnet M might not be drawn by its spring beyond the attractive influence of the magnet before it would be brought back by the reestablishment of the attraction, I employ the construction before referred to as the second part of my inventionthat is to say, I place the moving part or part attracted of said magnet in the same circuit with the coil, whereby at the instant the circuit is broken at the rail and the retracting-spring moves the armature from the poles the circuit is broken at the magnet also, so that upon the reuniting of the circuit through the rail the circuit will not becompleted, and there will be no tendency to draw the armature. back to the polesof the magnet, and thus cut short the alarm or entirely fail to give it.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have shown more in detail this construction and arrangement of the magnet, Fig. 7 showing the preferred form wherein the armature and coil are in the circuit, andv Fig. 8 showing the armature-lever or a contact-piece thereon in the circuit. The magnet illustrated in Fig. 7 isthe magnet M, enlarged and detached; but I employ the same magnet in my shunt-relay, which will be hereiuafter described. here it is desired that the The points I core and armature shall not come into actual contact, I prefer to employ the construction shown in Fig. 8. In this the wire from the coil leads to the contact'screw, which screw comes in contact with the armature-lever, or, better, a metal spring-contact thereon, when the armature is attracted. To this spring-contactthe circuit-wire is electrically connected. After the alarm is sounded on the locomotive, the circuit will not be reestablished until the engineer replaces the armature, so as to close the circuit at magnet M, as before stated.

The operation of the circuits and devices along the track may now be understood. In Fig. 2 point A is shown at the left and point D at the right, the intervening points being omitted. At each of these points is installed my improved relay It, and between the two points extend three wires, (1, e, and f. At each point the track has two breaks or insulations, c c with an insulated rail, 72, between them, and rails g andz' on either side. Two magnets,Da and 8a, are opposed to each other, with an armature-lever, Z, playing between them. The free end of this lever has considerable movement, and normally makes contact with one or other of two conducting spring-levers, j j",- but when its armature is in contact with the cores of either. magnet it makes contact lated from the lever, is brought in contact with a stop or button, 1'. This spring and button are connected bywires 1 and 1" (shown in dotted lines) with the rails g and h, respectively, so that when (1 touches r the insulation 0 between rails g and h is bridged, and a locomotive cro ssing' this insulation receives no alarm. Thisis the safety position, and the magnet Sa, the excitation of which produces this result, is called the safety-magnet,"

while the magnet Da, which draws the lever to the opposite side and separates g from r, to give the danger-alarm, is called the dangermagnet. One terminal of the magnet Sc is connected bya wire, 1, to its core 8, and thence to the'lever j, and the other terminal connects by wire 2 to a binding-post or connection, t.

One terminal of magnet 'Da is likewise connected by wire 3 to its core (Z and to springj, and its other terminal by wire 4 to t. Fromt two other wires lead, wire 5 extending to rail i, and wire (1 extending to the distant signalingpoint, and there connected to rail 7:. The other wire, 6, extends from the rail h at the adjacent point to the connection 25 at the distant point. The third line-wire, f, extends from the lever Z at one point to the lever l at the other.

. The operation is as follows, assuming that both relays at starting are set to safety, as shown: Alocomotivetraveling in the direction of the arrow on reaching point A first bridges rails h and receives no alarm. On bridging I the poles of the magnet the current is shortmotive reaches point D andbridges rails'i and h, whereupon the current passes through both comotive bridges rails? and y it does not reconnection with the lever Z, is not material, as many dlfierent constructions of commuta '4, and wire 5, to rail i. This causes the magsignaling-division, as from points A to D, but cannot receive it when leaving a block.

that at each electric impulse only one of the so that its end may play laterally, and the rails h i it sends a current through rail h, wire I e, to .point D, wire ehnnagnetv Dc, wire 3, spring 9', lever Z, wire f, back to point A, 1ever Zthere, spring j, wire 3, magnet Dc, wire nets Do; Do at .both points to draw the levers Z Z over into contactwiththem, thereby sepa rating both springs q g from their buttons 1' r andsetting bot-h relays to danger. Each lever l, infiying over, lifts-the lever j and passes under it, and when its armature touches cireuited through. the cores of that magnet, so that the armature is held thereto, if by that time the current be still flowing over the line from the locomotive. As soon as the current cea'sesto flow, the armature-lever is released, and is drawn by one ofthe springs it toward. the middle until it rests against the spring 3, whereby the magnet Do is shunted out and the magnet Sc is shunted into'circuit. The parts remain in this condition until the locoand the levers l l are both magnets Sc Sc J so that when the 10- drawn back to safety,-

ceive its own danger-signal. It will be ob-- served that a locomotive can receive the danger-alarm only when entering a block or The distinguishing feature of my relay R is two magnets is in circuit, and at the termination of the impulse that magnet is automatically switched outof circuit and the other magnet is switched in. The advantage of this relay is that it necessitates the use of only three line-wires between signalling-points, whereas with the usual devices six wires would be necessary. The particular arrangement of commutator'levers j j, in

tors may be used.

I will now describe in detail the particular construction shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 of the drawings. The levers j j are delicately pivoted or fulcrumed, and are pressed lightly down by the spring a, which connects them above. They are thus permitted to play in a vertical plane; Each lever is jointed at '1),

end is provided with a retracting-spring, w. Thus it will be seen that the ends of these levers have both a vertical and lateral play, and this play is resisted by springs a and w. There-- they might'as well be springs. The end of each lever is bent or. curved both laterally and vertically, as'shown, and their opposed ends are in the same vertical plane. This is best shown in Figs. 3 and. 5. ,The armature-lever Z plays in the same planewith the free ends of levers j j, but to one side of the bodies of same; and on its free extremity it is provided with an insulating-tip, a. (Best seen in Fig. 9, which 1 shows the end of lever Z detached.) When the relay R is standing normally at safety or danger, the metal of the lever Z is drawn into contact with the metal of one of the commutatonlevers at the point where the lateral bend in the lever begins, as shown in full lines-in Figs. 3 and 5. Thepull of spring mutator-lever laterally; but when the magnet is excited the attractive force is sufiicient to brush the commutator-lever out of the way as the leverl swings over. hen the lever 1 passes the first commutator-lever",'for example-it encounters the other lever, j,- but it moves directly under the downwardly-curved end of this lever and lifts it up, as clearly shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3. No elecs trical contact is made with j in this move ment, as the insulating-tip ac alone comes in contact with the lever j. The movement of thelever Z is sufficient to free'it entirely from the commutatonlever, and to keep it free until the circuit is broken by the forward movement of'the locomotive, when spring It draws the lever Z back against the lateral curved projections on lever j.

-In my improved shunt-relay I employ the magnet illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 to short- -eircuit the current and prevent the vibration of the armature-lever.

Having thus described my invention, I claim-'- 1. A double-acting relay consisting of the combination of two oppositely-acting electromagnets, an armature-lever capable of being vibrated alternately in opposite directions by the alternate excitation of said magnets, and acommutator for shunting the circuit to one or other of said magnets, constructed substantially as described, whereby so long as the current remains flowing one magnet remains in circuit'and the other is out out, and upon the cessation of the current the circuit is shunted tothe other magnet, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. 2. An automat' cshunt-relay comprising two oppositely-acting electro-magnets, an armature-lever common to both magnets and capable of being vibrated by the alternate excitation of said, magnets, and provided with springs which tend to draw the said lever to and hold it in an intermediate posit-1011, 2 commutator, constructed substantially as described, arranged to shunt one magnet into and the other one out of circuit at each electrical impulse through the contact of the armature-lever with the elements of the said commutator, and means, substantially as described, for establishingashort circuit through the armature-lever and the coil of the magnet, whereby the vibration of the said lever is avoided, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, to form an automatic shunt-relay, of the magnets Do and Sa, the armature-lever l, the commutator levers'or springs j j, arranged to operate as set forth,

is not sufficient to displace the comi V I 259,137

the spring q and knob a", and means, substantially as described, for shunting the commutator-levers out of circuit while the armature is attracted to either magnet, substantially as set forth. 7

, 4. The combination of magnets Da and Sa, armature-1ever Z, circuit-counections with said armature-lever, branch circuits, each traversing the coils of said magnets and connecting with the cores of same, and commutator-levers j j, connected with the terminals ofsaid branch circuits, substantially as shown, whereby When the armatureis in contact with the core of either magnet the current is short-circuited through the armature and core of the magnet, and the other magnet and the commutator are shunted out of ci1 cuit, substantially as set forth;

5. An electro-magnet having its armature or moving part in the same circuit with its excitingcoil, and with a stop against which it rests while attracted .to the magnet, whereby upon the'retraction of the armature the circuit is broken at said stop and the reattraction of the armature is prevented, substantially as set forth.

o. The combination, with the 't ibrating armature-lever Z, of the two levers j j, provided with Vertical and lateral curved tlps or ends, as described, and mounted as shown, the

springs a and w, and the springs for drawing the lever Z to an intermediate position, said my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THEODORE A; 13. PUTNAM.

\Vitnesses: I

HENRY Oonnnr'r, I Gno.- BAINTON. v 

